CHICAGO, Ill. – When Gary Hirshberg started his organic yogurt company in 1983, he knew he had the makings of a successful business. “The only problem that we had was we had no supply and no demand,” said the head of Stoneyfield Farm, who goes by the title of CE-YO. More than 20 years later […] Read more
Sean Pratt
Stories by Sean Pratt
Growers told to stop whining and start pushing benefits
CHICAGO, Ill. – Organic pioneers need to stop fretting about new settlers and start getting on with more important tasks, says the founder of a 23-year-old organic firm. Gary Hirshberg, who calls himself the CE-YO of Stonyfield Farm, the third largest yogurt brand in the United States, said the organic industry is up in arms […] Read more
U.S. organic stamp boosts sales
CHICAGO, Ill. – Katherine DiMatteo saw first-hand the positive effect a national regulation had on the U.S. organic industry and is confident it will have the same impact north of the border. “You’re going to see that sales of organics are going to grow,” said the former executive director of the Organic Trade Association. The […] Read more
Soaring oil prices good news for natural fibres
CHICAGO, Ill. – Farmers are understandably upset about soaring oil prices but there is at least one good reason to embrace them. High oil prices are driving up the cost of petroleum, the raw material that produces polyester fabrics, and that is creating an opportunity for natural fibres made out of crops like cotton, flax […] Read more
Special crops, pulses unite
Canada’s two national pulse and special crops organizations are merging portions of their operations. The union was prompted by the resignation of Francois Catellier, executive director of the Canadian Special Crops Association, who after 10 years working part-time for the association, took a new job in business development for francophone municipalities in Manitoba. Steve Foster, […] Read more
Special crops industry shy with contracts
Special crops producers are stumbling into the 2006-07 crop year with no new-crop contracts to guide them through their seeding decisions. “Without having a price discovery mechanism for grains, you’re planting blind,” said Larry Weber, a broker with Weber Commodities Ltd. With the exception of a few small-sized chickpea and mustard contracts, special crops processors […] Read more
Biodiesel bus fleet gets green light in Saskatoon
After two years of experimenting with a biodiesel blend, Saskatoon Transit Services is making a permanent conversion to the alternative fuel. The city plans to move its entire fleet of 113 buses to a blend that contains one percent biodiesel, which it estimates will save local taxpayers five cents per litre through increased fuel economy […] Read more
Plant investors prefer low profile
Little is known about the company that plans to build a $200 million debranning plant in Rosthern, Sask. International Debranning Inc. has chosen to stay out of the limelight, allowing its business partner Farm Corp. United Grain Pool to do the talking about the recently announced biorefinery project. The plant is expected to use a […] Read more
Container unrest looms at port
A recent rally of container truck drivers in Vancouver set hearts to racing in the special crops industry but transportation analysts say a repeat of last year’s trucker strike is unlikely. “Of course it’s a concern but I don’t think a strike is imminent at this point,” said Greg Cherewyk, director of market development with […] Read more
Farmers turning back to summerfallow
Andrew Dennis used to farm as aggressively as he possibly could but slumping commodity prices have prompted a mellower approach to farming, one that revolves around putting a sizable chunk of his operation into summerfallow every year. “I used to go absolutely full bore … but man, the losses were just getting intolerable,” said the […] Read more
